


Falling Into The Deep

by Daantjerrr



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Amusement Parks, Homophobic Language, Liam is a puppy, M/M, Niall is captain of all the ships, Summer, TW: Mentions of abuse, Zayn is a nerd, though homophobic language is only used once right at the start and easy to skip, tw: homophobic language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2015-07-20
Packaged: 2018-04-10 08:35:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4384916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daantjerrr/pseuds/Daantjerrr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis works at an amusement park over the summer before uni to support his mum. Guess what? It is unspeakably boring. Or it is until Louis notices this handsome curly haired guy who seems to be in the park every single day. Louis becomes curious, and maybe, possibly, the slightest bit attracted to him.<br/>Also features Niall, Zayn and Liam as Louis’ colleges. Zayn and Liam might fall for each other. Hard. Niall is captain of the seven seas of ships and pulls some strings to get them sailing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Falling Into The Deep

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sohappily (somuchitshurting)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/somuchitshurting/gifts).



> Due to several personal reasons, this is a lot later than planned, and also a lot shorter. The moment I saw the prompts, I absolutely loved them. Ideas started to form in my brain right away, making it a lot easier to choose. Unfortunately I haven't been able to use a great many of them, but it was still a lot of fun to write.
> 
> Also a lot of thanks to my lovely beta reader Caroline. You really are an angel!

When you were a child, going to the amusement park every day seemed like a dream come true. Well, for Louis Tomlinson the dream had become reality. Six days a week he was surrounded by the rides, the immersive decoration, the screams, that special magical atmosphere that only amusement parks seemed to have. Surrounded by the trash and the barf and the goddamn annoying music, all freaking day long. Oh well, you must be careful what you wish for, mustn’t you?

He sure had imagined the summer before uni a whole lot differently. Ultimate freedom: relieved of college with its homework, uniforms and strict rules. Finally ready to stand on his own feet, that’s what it was all about, wasn’t it? His friends were partying on Ibiza and god knows where, enjoying adult life, yet he spent his days in a bloody amusement park surrounded by kids all day long. Fucking fantastic.

Today he was stationed at the Oblivion, one of the park’s biggest rollercoasters. It wasn’t the worst place he’d been at since he had started working at the park. The music wasn’t as annoying as that at the more family friendly rides and there weren’t small kids around, which made for a nice change. Sure, Louis liked children well enough, but when working at an amusement park, having a day without them was a blessing. Especially since he’d get right back to kiddies’ world when he got home, where he was surrounded by his four sisters. Yet the screaming of the visitors gave him this burning headache and he was already growing tired of telling parents whose kids were too small to be allowed on the ride. And that no, he wouldn’t risk losing his job to let them put their children in danger for a little adrenaline kick.

He looked at the clock with relief. One more ride and it’d be lunch time. The morning had gone by slower and slower as his headache had started to grow. His stomach also rumbled annoyingly. He needed food and he needed it now.

Niall, his colleague, released the safety belts and made sure everyone made their way out. When he signed Louis, the boy opened the gates to let the next batch of visitors in. They climbed on the train as puppies that were just released of their leash. The gates were closed again. Louis quickly made his round, checking whether everyone was buckled up as he unenthusiastically made his little safety speech. That’s when he first saw him.

Most people were paired up, but this boy sat all alone In the last cart. He smiled at Louis as he checked his safety belt, green eyes twinkling. Louis knew that look too well. Almost everyone in the park seemed to have it. Well, everyone except the employees.

“Is it any good?” the boy asked. “The ride, I mean.”

“You tell me when you’re back here. My headache says it probably isn’t, but who knows. It could be fun.”

Louis didn’t exactly know what it was, but the boy made him smile through his grumpiness. Maybe it were his curls. Maybe the optimistic vibe he had around him. Maybe he was just handsome – no, pretty described him better. He just smiled.

Not that he remembered. Not then, at least.

Perhaps he had seen that boy a few more times during the day. Not at his afternoon ride – at the Carnival he only had to deal with small children and their parents. But maybe his eyes spotted some strands of the brown curls in the crowd, savoured them unconsciously. He didn’t know. He didn’t care. It was just one of the thousands of faces he saw every day, none of which ever returned during the summer.

_______

It was not like he was looking for hot people. Sometimes his eyes just fell on some guy, usually chatting with his friends, and he couldn’t help but stare for a short moment and think “damn”. Luckily his job involved a lot of waiting, and keeping an eye on the line was the perfect excuse for his stares.

On most shifts, that would be it. But this was no normal shift. No, this was a Tommo-Payno shift. His colleague Liam had quickly guessed Louis wasn’t exactly straight. So during one of their first shifts together he casually mentioned how fit the guy Louis had just been staring at was. Louis had gazed at him breathlessly. “Yeah, shame we’re not stationed at the water park today. I wonder what he looks like in trunks,” he’d replied quickly. And that had been the start of their friendship.

Liam’s action had actually caught Louis off guard. He wasn’t out for anyone but his mum, and that was only because she’d already suspected as much. Louis’ friends were kind of macho. They played football, Call of Duty and got drunk. Those cheating motherfuckers online were the gays and faggots, and thus Louis couldn’t possibly be one as well.

“Yo, Li.” Louis subtly tilted his head at one of the guys in the front of the line. He was a whole new level of hot, probably the most attractive guy he’d seen this week. Carefully styled black hair, easy smile and those arms! Yes, this one was a gem.

“Hmm, I don’t know,” his colleague replied.

“What? You don’t know. Come on, Liam, you’ve got eyes, right?”

“Sure, he’s fit.”

“But?”

Liam smiled shyly. “So, there is this guy.”

“Ooh, tell me more.” This was a story Louis would love to hear. Unfortunately for him, the train just rode into the station.

They quickly let the passengers out and opened the gates for the next group. Safety instruction, seat bells and off they went. It was a routine they were overly familiar with by now.

“So, this guy.” Louis said as soon as the train had left.

“I had a shift with him yesterday. The Free Fall. I cursed the moment I saw it on my schedule, I mean, you know how boring it is, right? But there he was: flawless brown skin, cheekbones to cut yourself on and hair right out of some damned commercial. Which initially just made me more annoyed. I mean, eye candy is nice, but if you’re gorgeous like that you need to have a rotten personality, or otherwise it just isn’t fair, you know? But as it turns out he was actually really nice and geeky? Like, how is that even humanly possible?”

“Wait a minute. Are you talking about Malik? Because god, Liam, everyone has noticed him by now. That guy should have been scouted as some sort of model years ago, not work a minimum wage job in a place like this! But he’s nice? Well, that’s a pleasant surprise then.”

“More than nice even. Like, he is a genuinely interesting person. We talked about comics and video games and it was amazing. He wants to be and English teacher, you know? Knows all about literature and stuff. God, I hate reading, but the way he talks about those books makes even me want to sprint to the library.”

“So, what are you waiting for? Ask the guy out!”

“Have you paid attention to what I’ve been saying? The guy is basically a god. There’s no way he isn’t taken. Besides, he’s probably not into guys anyway.”

“What makes you think that?” Their conversation was once again interrupted by the arrival of the train.

They went through their routine once more. Liam seemed kind of happy with the distraction, but Louis wouldn’t get him away just yet. “Honestly, I’m not getting a very straight vibe off of him, you know what I mean? Like, maybe he isn’t gay, but he could very well be bi. Just ask him.”

“I can’t. Things will undoubtedly get awkward, and I actually liked talking to him. Besides, when am I supposed to do that? It’s not like I’m cool enough to sit with him at lunch, and I have no clue when we’re scheduled together again.”

“Just do it? Sitting with him at lunch, I mean. I could come with you. I mean, it sounds like you two had a really nice afternoon, so why would it be awkward to go sit with him at lunch? Man up, Liam. And once you’re close to him, just ask him for a drink. Can’t be that hard.”

“Yeah, of course I’ll take you along, just so you can steal him from right under my nose,” Liam joked.

“Of course. You apparently have a great taste in men, so I’ll just follow your instincts. It’s called survival of the fittest.”

“Then that’d be me. I’m sorry, Tommo, but my arms are just way better than yours.”

“I mean fittest as in cleverest, in this case at least. My plan is flawless. But don’t despair: he isn’t my type, so it seems you’re in luck. You get to keep him.”

“Well, you’re forgetting I’ll have to get him first.”

They waited for the train to return, and put the new group of visitors in. Among them there was the curly haired boy, who claimed the spot in the very back. “Did you know,” he said when Louis checked his seatbelt, “that taking your date on a rollercoaster can make them fall in love with you?”

Louis chuckled. “No, I didn’t. But I guess you and your hand will have a splendid night then,” he replied, looking at the empty space next to the boy.

“I imagine we will.”

“Okay, everyone buckled up?” Louis asked the train. “Have a nice ride!” And he launched them with a push on the button. All ready to fall in love, according to the boy. Louis had actually forgotten he’d seen him before, until those brown curls dipped out of sight, and Liam told him to stop smiling like an idiot.

_______

Every place has its regulars. The customers whose names every single staff member knows, just like their favourite football club or whether they want the receipt or not. It’s the alcoholics who visit the supermarket at least five times a day for another can of beer or two or ten, the builder who comes to the cafeteria for a chicken sandwich every day at twelve fifteen, the old lady who gets her daily gin without even asking.

Every place, except for amusement parks.

This isn’t exactly strange of course. Amusement parks tend to be rather expensive, and whilst the season pass can be relatively cheap when you visit often, people still don’t tend to go often enough for the staff to recognise them. There’s of course the exception of ride regulars, who keep going on the same ride over and over again, becoming a familiar face for the ride operator by their third of fourth trip, but that’s about it.

Except Louis kept seeing this boy with brown curls for days and days on end. Sure, some people would stay at one of the parks resorts or hotels and visit the park several days, but this started to seem like a very long holiday.

The day after the hand dating-incident, as Louis had started to call it to himself, he was stationed at the Tea Party. He dreaded it the moment he saw it on his schedule. Like the name suggested, it was a teacups-ride, meaning it was basically a carousel-extreme. Family friendly, of course. But family friendliness unfortunately didn’t mean puke-free, and sometimes people would underestimate their, or their children’s, sensitivity to motion sickness. On top of that came the soundtrack of screaming children, which once again ensured Louis of a day full of headaches.

Because the ride was fairly simple, it required only one operator. That was actually the part Louis dreaded most. Instead of gossiping or just chatting about everything and nothing, all he could do all day was staring dead in front of him. Officially he was required to check whether someone got sick, but he figured with the slow stopping mechanism everything would get covered in barf anyway, and if that happened he would probably notice soon enough by the disgusted screams.

Louis stayed far away from the buttons during this round, though, and after a while the ride started to slow down until it came to a halt as planned. He got up, opened the exit, and, when everyone had left, walked to the other side to let a new group onto the machine. After he’d closed off all the cups, he got back to his little control panel and switched it on. That’s when he saw him.

“Thought you were more the adrenaline junkie kind of lad,” he commented.

“I need my breaks. Plus, this is another way to get that feeling of the wind through my hair.”

“I suppose. How did you even end up exactly at the front of the line, anyway? And keep talking, I’m just pretending I give a – well, you know what I was going to say. Better not to swear here, I suppose. I’m very family friendly, you know,” Louis said as he fixed his eyes on the spinning teacups.

“Careful planning.”

“Should I start to worry? That sounds a little stalkerish, I’m afraid.”

“Nah, I promise I’ll limit the stalking part to your working hours, okay?”

“Sounds reasonable enough. The company is very much appreciated anyway.”

“Bet you were bored out of your mind before I came around.”

Louis gave the boy a look that said it all.

“Aren’t you getting dizzy, keeping watching that?”

“Nah, you get used to it very quickly. Or you just zone out,” he said a little quieter so no-one but the boy would hopefully overhear. “Accidentally, of course.”

“Do they get sick a lot?”

“So far no-one has, but I won’t say that too loudly, because I don’t feel like cleaning up puke, to be honest. Luckily I’m not stationed here too often, though I’ve heard stories of colleagues who’ve had to clean the place. Not very nice.”

“Not very nice at all. I’ll try to keep my hamburger inside then.”

“Oh, by the way, how did the date with your hand end?”

“Haha, you actually remembered! I went rather great, thank you. I think we might be heading for a long, very intimate relationship.”

“How fantastic. But I bet you’ll have to take her on a few more dates to the rollercoaster just to make sure.”

“That might be a good idea, yes. But for today I guess we’ll stick with the more tranquil rides, I suppose. Did you hear about the Tea Party? I think that might be a good next step.”

“Yeah, I heard that one is great. And look, it’s slowing down. If you hurry you could be on board and riding in just about a minute.”

“I’m so excited.”

“Do you want to get out? We don’t usually do that, because in retrospect you’ll realise that your fears are maybe not so irrational, but totally unnecessary as the adrenaline will make you love it, but for this one I could maybe make an exception if it’s really too much for you.”

“Nah, I think we can handle it just fine. Isn’t that so, dearest hand? She says yes.”

“Well, you’re in luck, I’m going to throw the last group out and then I’ll come back to get you up and running straight away.”

And he did just that. With a push on the button the ride came to life once again, and he saw the boy laughing and enjoying himself probably even more than the little kids.

_______

“Do you guys see a lot of regulars?”

It was lunch time for Louis, and he was sitting at the table with Niall, Liam and Zayn. They all worked the same shifts, and thus shared their breaks. Unfortunately, the staffer’s canteen didn’t serve the same food as the restaurants in the park, but nonetheless it was usually quite decent and best of all: free. Today’s menu was tacos, so they were all quite pleased.

“Depends on the ride. On the family rides not so many, same with the really popular ones. But yesterday I was at the Niagara Falls, and I had a few folks who just kept coming over and over again, even though the weather was shit,” Niall said.

“It probably helped that they were already wet. Getting splashed another time isn’t as bad then, I suppose,” Zayn suggested.

“Well, then I should ask them to test ride next time. Because I couldn’t appreciate Niall’s mood after getting splashed too much,” Liam said.

“No, I mean actual regulars of the park. Like, people who you see on multiple days,” Louis asked again.

“The folks in the resorts, you mean? I heard we get tons of them, but once the regular visitors get to enter I honestly can’t tell them apart. Maybe there’s more regulars of certain rides among them, because they have more time, but that method isn’t exactly watertight,” Zayn replied.

“No, no, no. I mean normal visitors that you see more often than regular. Like, not a few days after each other, but really regularly, you know what I mean?”

“No…” Liam said. “Could you maybe explain what you’re heading for?”

Louis sighed. “Well, there is a boy that seems to be here all the time.”

“Without parents?” Niall interrupted.

“Yes, of course! He’s like, seventeen or something, I guess.”

“Oooh…” Liam started and wiggled his eyebrows.

“No, it’s not like that. I just see him around a lot and wondered whether you’ve seen more people like that, or maybe even him, you know. Just to check whether I’m going crazy or not.”

“Could you maybe describe him? That way we might be able to deduce whether he’s a figment of your imagination or actually a nutter without a life,” Zayn suggested.

“I talked to him multiple times, so I guess this job hasn’t pushed me over the edge just yet.”

“Or you were talking to yourself,” Zayn tried again.

“No, I think Liam’s seen him,” Louis remembered. “They curly haired boy at the Thunderstorm, two weeks back. Dark brown curls, green eyes, he sat in the back.”

“Are you sure you aren’t stalking him?” Niall asked.

“No! I remember because he made some sort of joke about how you should take your date on a rollercoaster, because your brain will think you’re into them. So I told him he and his hand were probably going steady, seeing as there was no-one next to him.”

“And I told you to stop smiling like an idiot after that, yes I remember.”

“See! Well, at least my bored brain didn’t come up with that one then, good to know. But have you guys seen someone like that in the park? Or is it just me?”

“Honestly, Lou, I see so many people every day, it’s enough effort to remember your faces already, let alone faces of the thousands of visitors,” Zayn said.

“Can’t help you either, mate. Sorry,” Niall added.

“Where have you seen him, then?” Liam asked.

“Plenty of times. The first time was at the Oblivion. I think he made some kind of joke then as well, but I don’t remember. Just that I’ve seen him there. And then at the Thunderstorm with Liam, a few days later. After that I’ve seen him pretty much every day for what, three weeks? At the Tea Party, Ice Age, Rowing Lake, just about everywhere. He doesn’t seem to care what kind of ride it is, he goes on every type.

He’s kind of nice, actually. We usually talk a bit. Just some banter, nothing special. But it’s nice you know, keeps the boredom away for a bit. So I was wondering whether he does that with everyone or it’s just me. Maybe it’s because I noticed him or something. I don’t know.”

“Are you sure you aren’t into him? That might be the reason why you keep seeing him and we don’t. And what you said, maybe he’s just talking to you because he knows you know he’s here a lot,” Liam said.

“What’s his name, by the way?” Niall asked.

“No idea,” Louis confessed. I hadn’t bothered him until then.

“Well, by the sounds of it you’ll be able to ask him in a bit,” Zayn said.

“Maybe. I must say, ‘mysterious stranger’ is nice as well. Has an air of, you know…”

“Mystery?” Niall tried.

“Yeah.”

“The mystery of the mysterious stranger,” Liam said. “And the mystery of course is: what is he doing here every freaking day? That sounds like a nightmare, honestly.”

“Or a children’s dream,” Louis replied.

“Those turn out to be nightmares when you actually think about them surprisingly often,” Liam said.

“Maybe you should just ask him?” Zayn suggested.

“Doesn’t that seem kind of rude?” Louis said.

“And it’s official: you’re head over heels for him!” Niall declared.

“No I’m not! Like I said, I don’t even know his name. I just noticed him and wondered whether you guys did as well.”

“Sure,” the Irish guy said, clearly not impressed at all.

“Well, seems it’s time for Zayn and me to get our asses over to the lake. See you later, guys! And Louis, I demand a full report at lunch tomorrow,” Liam said happily.

Niall said his goodbyes cheerfully as always, whilst Louis just muttered something inaudible.

“Well, I guess we’ll have to leave as well, then,” Louis concluded.

“Yeah. See you later, mate!” Niall said, an enormous grin on his face.

“What are you so happy about?”

“Give me some more time. I’ll tell you later.”

“Alright then…”

Louis got up, brought his plate back and made his way outside. Next stop: the Oblivion. He loved the ride, but he loved the scared look on the faces of supposedly brave teenage boys even more. This was going to be a great afternoon.

But just before he left the canteen, he heard the voice of his manager call out his name. “Tomlinson! Can I have a word with you?”

His stomach made a free fall into his guts. What did he do wrong? Yes, he might have accidentally sworn a few times, but no one could possibly have overheard that, right? And he always was more or less perfectly on time. As long as he arrived everywhere earlier than Niall, it couldn’t be that either.

He slowly turned around to the office. Mr Keitings sat behind his desk, staring at some papers. “Great, you heard me. We have a bit of a problem: the guy who was supposed to run the Tea Party this afternoon became unavailable. Could you please go there?”

Louis smiled with relief. “Of course! I’ll be on my way!” It wasn’t until he was actually on his way he realised it wasn’t much of a relief, but instead another bored-packed afternoon. Fantastic.

_______

“What a surprise to see you here,” a voice next to Louis said as he was watching the teacups go round and round and round. He hadn’t realised until now how hypnotising it actually was.

“I work here,” he replied. It took his slumbering brain a moment to recognise the voice. When it did, his heart made a little jump, but Louis only noticed his head snapping to the side. The boy was standing next to him.

“Since when were you standing here?”

“Since you started the ride. Was surprised you didn’t see me. I guess this thing really makes your brain cells commit suicide. Should have listened to mum.”

“No offense, but your mum was wrong. It only kills brain cells when you work here. I mean, it’s perfectly fine, though a bit dull – but what summer’s job isn’t? – until you have to watch spinning teacups for an entire afternoon.”

“Yeah, it does seem a bit dull. But then here I am, ready to brighten your day. I see I’m much needed.”

“So very much. Wish I could make this thing spin on and on, the kids probably wouldn’t mind.”

“You mean you can’t? But what is that shiny control panel for then?”

“Start, stop, emergency stop, music and about a zillion light effects,” Louis listed. “But it automatically stops after three minutes anyway, so I’m not sure why there Is a normal stop button besides the emergency one.”

“For the really annoying kids, maybe. Or to get me to you again quicker.”

Louis couldn’t help but look at the boy again. He’d just assumed he might be a bit lonely, hanging around in an amusement park all by himself all day long, and was therefore so eager to talk to him, but was he now flirting with him? He tried to think of a clever comeback, but his brain nor his throat would cooperate, suddenly turning as dry as the Sahara.

“Looks like it’s time to let me on. After you’ve let the others off, of course,” Harry said, eyeing the now still ride.

“Yes, yes, of course!” Louis said immediately. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what went wrong there.” And he hopped on his feet, ready to get back to work.

The boy was back more quickly than he had anticipated.

“Isn’t there, like, a line you have to wait in?”

“There is, but it’s far shorter than you think, apparently. Once you open up, just about everyone fits right in.”

“And you just stay behind to talk to me?”

“Nah, I stay behind so some kid can get in quicker. They appreciate it a lot.”

“How noble and family friendly. Just like me, or I suppose so, because for some reason I’m stuck here instead of being at the Oblivion.”

“You were supposed to do the Oblivion this afternoon? That blows, mate.”

“Sure does. But at least the company is half decent here. The bloke I was supposed to have my shift with this afternoon is about as interesting as this ride.”

“This is a really nice ride though. Well styled, nice staff, I really appreciate his company. I’d give it at least four stars.”

“As someone who works in customer service, I would of course love to know how I could boost your experience to the full five stars.”

“You could, for example, get in with me.“

“And who would be operating the ride?”

“Telekinesis?”

“I’m afraid I don’t possess that ability, and how much I would love to let some toddler run this machine, I don’t think my boss will appreciate that very much.”

“Really? It will most certainly give them the day of their lives.”

“Yes, because everyone absolutely dreams to be a ride operator at an amusement park.”

“Oi! There are undoubtedly people around who dream of that occupation.”

“Well, you know what those people aren’t? Ride operators. It’s dull, really.”

“But you get to give people a good time!”

“If it was all about that for me, I better would have become a prostitute. Heard those are giving people are really good time, plus the salary is actually nice.”

“I hear it’s not your thing, though?”

“No, I’m not that desperate, or willing to please. But maybe a family friendly-ride is not the best place to discuss this, don’t you think? I wouldn’t want to lose my imago as a family friendly-guy. Imagine! I wouldn’t be asked to sit at this shit anymore! Such as shame.”

“It would be a waste of a great conservation, yes.”

“A conservation that’s now over. The ride’s slowing down. I don’t think you can pull off that trick another time.”

“Watch me.”

And indeed, Harry stayed where he was, while smiling friendly at the kids and their parents as he told them to get on the ride.

“You are still here, I see.”

“I am indeed. But I could leave, if you’d rather have that.”

“No! I appreciate the company, I really do. It’s just that I don’t want to waste your time, is all. Most people spend money on amusement parks to talk to the staff members, you know.”

“They don’t? What a waste! They’re really missing out.”

“So, which of my colleagues are good conversationalists?”

“I wouldn’t know, honestly. I mostly talk to you,” the boy confessed.

“Well then, mysterious stranger. Thanks, I guess.”

“Mysterious stranger?’

“Thought it sounded a little cooler than just ‘the regular’, also because we get to use that term sometimes when there’s visitors who keep going on the same ride over and over again. I just don’t remember anyone being here as often as you are. We don’t get that many regulars of the park as a whole, you know.”

“I guess I’m here rather regularly, yeah.” He chuckled. “Didn’t think I would get noticed in those masses, though.”

“Then maybe you should try not to talk to the staff members too much.”

“Why? I bet people talk to you all day.”

“Mwah, not too much. There’s those boring old jokes, and sometimes people or worried or afraid or they want to share this really cool memory they had at a particular ride. It’s mostly one way, really.”

“Fair enough. But still, mysterious stranger?”

“Well, it’s not like I know your name, do it?”

“It’s Harry.”

“What?”

“My name. My name is Harry.” He stuck out his hand to shake Louis’. “Nice to meet you.”

Louis smiled. “Nice to meet you, mysterious Harry. I’m Louis.”

“I know, it says so on your badge.”

“How very stupid of me.”

“I see what you mean with boring old jokes.”

“Yeah, they’re terrible. But you always have to laugh along with them, it makes the customer feel valued.”

“Exactly. That’s why I tell all my old stupid jokes to you.”

Louis saw that the ride had once again come to a stop. “You better hop on this time,” he told Harry. “It makes you seem a little less weird.”

The boy, or Harry, as Louis now knew, didn’t reply but boarded anyway. Louis felt a stitch in his stomach. Did he just upset him? Well, he would probably come back. And Louis needed to take a good breath and think for a bit. He just hoped that two rides was enough. Maybe the line was long and he’d get three.

He pushed the button and the colourful cups spun into life once again. He saw Harry in the blue one, right now on the far left, but it would spin right by in mere seconds. No, he wouldn’t look at Harry right now. That probably wouldn’t do the thinking process any good.

Right. So he now knew that the mysterious stranger was called Harry, that his hair consisted of beautiful brown curls that he loved to flaunt them in the wind – which actually made them look great. And he just might have noticed that the boy had the brightest green eyes, like a meadow in spring just after a refreshing shower. He also knew that Harry visited the park almost daily, didn’t want to get noticed, but apparently liked to talk to Louis. Good thing that Louis liked to talk to him too. Maybe a little too much. And there he was, right at the problem.

At lunch he’d said that he wasn’t into the mysterious stranger so convincedly, but was that quite true? He had noticed him after all, where to others he was just another nameless face in the crowd. Even more than that: Harry came by to talk every day, and every morning when Louis came through the staff’s entrance he was already looking forward to that very moment.

Maybe, just maybe, he was starting to develop feelings for this mysterious boy. This boy, that he knew little about, and understood even less. But with every little detail he discovered he could feel it: the ground under his appearance became less and less stable. And the more he understood, the more he started to fall.

The spinning cups that had hypnotised him started to lose speed again. He went through the routine once more, mostly on automatic pilot. His unleased thoughts were trying to kill him, screaming louder and louder with every moment. Luckily he managed to avoid Harry, who was probably long back in line, because seeing him right know would undoubtedly have led his brain in a shut-down state.

A new push, a new round. No Harry in sight, much to Louis’ relief. He needed to get his thoughts sorted out, and he needed to do it quickly.

Essentially, there was nothing for him to lose. After all, he hardly knew the boy. What stopped him from confessing his feelings? What were the consequences? Worst case scenario: Harry would stop coming by and his days would once again become extremely dull, instead of the heaps of dullness and longing between Harry’s periodical visits.

But there was a problem. Like Liam had said: the mystery was not who the boy was, but why he was there. He was somewhere in his mid-late teens, there was no reason for him to hang out at an amusement park all by himself all day. Except there apparently was. Louis felt he might be giving himself too much credit here, but what if Harry was extremely lonely for some reason and this was his way to get some social contact? Wouldn’t it be selfish to destroy that for him?

For once, Louis’ headache wasn’t caused by the repetitive music or screaming children, but all by himself. Thoughts were screaming in his head, and he was fighting to put them back in their corner where they belonged. The ride was slowing down again, he most likely didn’t have an awful lot of time.

He didn’t know how, but he sort of managed. The forced smiles he put out while letting the children off the ride actually made him feel better, and by the time he let the next group on he thought he might even be able to face Harry again.

The boy was indeed there, and much to Louis’ relief, didn’t comment on him at all. Apparently his inner struggle wasn’t showing, praise his acting abilities! Maybe studying to become a drama teacher wasn’t as dramatic a career choice as he feared sometimes.

They kept on chatting and chatting and chatting, just like the tea cups kept spinning. Louis didn’t bother to send Harry away again. If he wanted to stay, fine, he could stay. All he did was remind him that he could always leave if he wanted to, and that would be absolutely fine to Louis.

Time flew by, and at 18.50 Louis got the sign he was going to make his last ride for the day. He was actually surprised when his colleague called in. Harry had talked him through his shift as if it’d only lasted for two hours.

“I guess you have to board right now, that’s the only way you’ll be getting off.”

“What if I rather stay?”

“Then you’ll have to stay behind alone, because I’m going home.”

“Hmm. I guess I’ll board then,” Harry said. Was Louis just seeing things, or did he seem a bit disappointed?

“No worries, you’ll probably be back tomorrow, mysterious stranger.”

“You really like that nickname, don’t you?”

“Well, the fact that I know your name doesn’t make you any less mysterious or strangerish to me. I mean: what do I really know about you? Except that you apparently love this park.”

“I think I might have a solution for that. How late is your lunch break tomorrow?”

“One ‘til two, why?”

“Perfect. Meet me at the entrance of the castle.”

“Harry, at lunch I’m preferably lunching.”

“I know. I’ll make sure you’ll return for your afternoon shift well fed, alright? Trust me.”

Louis wanted to object, but had no good reason to. “Alright, I’ll be there. Now, spin your way home, I’m closing.” And please spin your way out of my head, thank you very much, he silently added.

_______

The morning shift had never seemed to be this long. Since Louis had spent his morning shift at the Tea Party before, and he now was stationed at the Thunderstorm with Liam, that was saying quite something.

“So yesterday you were just curious what he was doing here and absolutely not into him at all, and today you’re ditching us to take him on a date?”

“It’s not a date. I just said I didn’t know him at all and then he proposed to change that by hanging out during my break.”

“Isn’t the objective of a date usually to get to know each other better?”

“Sure, but is still isn’t a date.”

“Does the bloke think the same way about it though?”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

“Honestly, Lou. He’s been flirting with you since the first time I saw him. He obviously smitten for you, and you’re not much better either, so I’d say: go for it. But please stop denying it’s a bloody date because it is.”

“How’s your Zayn-situation then? Because I could say the same about the two of you, but I’m not seeing any progress there either.”

“Shut up.”

“Agreed. But is it one already?”

Turns out it wasn’t, and Louis had to wait through another painstakingly slow hour. But, as with all things, it eventually ended, just after Louis finally suspected he started to understand what Einstein’s law of relativity might entail. When he saw the colleagues who were taking the next shift, he had to hold himself  back to not run for his back, which he had hidden at the staff entrance, as they weren’t supposed to bring personal belongings to the ride, and when he was finally free to go he practically ran to the castle.

The castle – it sounded so romantic. But this wasn’t Disneyland, and the park’s castle was actually haunted. Or well, it was a haunted house, but wasn’t that usually scarier? It suddenly hit Louis how fitting it was after Harry’s comment about taking your date on a rollercoaster for the adrenaline. Had he really been flirting with Louis then? And how had Louis been so blind? And, even more importantly: was he going to flirt now? Was Liam right and was this really a date?

The man with all the answers was already at the gate. He didn’t have flowers, much to Louis’ relief, but his smile revealed he was probably happy to see Louis anyway. “Hey, mysterious stranger.”

“You actually came!” Harry said happily. He was beaming like a puppy.

“Why wouldn’t I? I’m a man of my word.”

“It’s just, I came to you, you know? And you couldn’t actually go away. So I was kind of afraid you only kept up with me because you had no other choice, to be honest.”

“If I did, I just would’ve told you to leave. But I actually happen to truly enjoy your company, so let’s get going. You want to go in there? Get the adrenaline pumping?”

Harry looked behind them. “Nah, maybe a little later. Don’t want to let you starve.”

“Ah, that’s a good idea. Stellar thinking, my dearest Harrold.”

“It doesn’t actually stand for Harrold. Just Harry.”

“Whatever, I don’t care. O, wait a moment. I actually brought a shirt to put over my clothes. I like to spend my break in peace, you know.” He quickly got the shirt out and popped it over his uniform. “Alright, I’m all yours.”

“I really like the sound of that,” Harry said as he held his arm out.

“Such a gentleman,” Louis replied as he took it. Was this the appropriate moment to ask whether this was a date? He didn’t know, but decided to keep his mouth shut.

The walked to the picnic place near the lake. Even though Harry had probably chosen to busiest hour for a meal, they still found an empty table quite quickly. Louis was actually happy they ate here, instead of at one of the restaurants. He didn’t feel like giving his colleagues food for gossip.

“Time to charm you with my excellent cooking abilities. That’s the first thing you have to know about me: I love cooking.”

“Are you any good?” Louis asked, remembering their first encounter.

“Judge for yourself. I made you chicken-parma ham sandwiches with mozzarella,” he said as he took to buns out of his bag.

“It better be good. I’m skipping the canteen for this, you know,” Louis said jokingly. He took a bite. “O, man. Never mind, this is actually really good! Wow, I never knew a plain old sandwich could be this delicious.”

Harry started to beam even more. “Thank you. I’m glad you like them.”

The buns were finished much more quickly than Louis would have liked, but Harry gave him no respite. He clearly had great plans, because as soon as their lunch had been devoured he got up and pulled Louis with him.

“I’m sorry this seems so rushed, but I don’t want you to get too late.”

“No worries, mate. We still have plenty of time. Where are we even going, I thought you were all about demystifying yourself?”

“I am, I am. Where do you want to go? Are you actually allowed to go on rides during work?”

“Even required to do so. We have to check them every morning and afternoon, which includes a compulsory manned test-ride. The Thunderstorm works better than your average cup of joe, I can assure you.”

“But now?”

“I’m not sure. I guess I can, as I’m technically free during my lunch break. But I don’t think there will be lines short enough to get me back in time. Besides, I’m fine with just sitting somewhere and talking, really.”

“Well, there’s no line over there,” Harry said as he pointed at the ferris wheel.

Louis gave his watch a quick glance. “Works for me.”

Harry had been right. They could board one of the capsules almost as soon as they got to the ride, and no-one stopped Louis. As soon as they got in, they started to laugh. It was absurd, really. Both Louis being on a ride at work, and even more so with Harry, whom he never imagined to meet in a place like this.

“This is really cliché, isn’t it? Typical amusement park date, with the big climax at the top of the ferris wheel,” Louis said.

“Are you really suggesting I’d fuck you here? You were just calling me mysterious strangers minutes ago!”

“Hmm, no. Too visible. As strange as it may sound, I would actually like to keep my job.”

“Good point. Well, let’s start by talking then. How does that sound?’

“Great. Now, mysterious stranger, tell me all about yourself.”

“Not so fast. I already told you one thing. Now it’s your turn.”

“Really, Harry? You already know a lot about me!”

“Yeah, that your name is Louis and you work in an amusement park. It’s not a whole lot to go on, honestly.”

“Fair point. Well, euhm, after the summer I’m going to uni to become a drama teacher.”

“That’s awesome! Did your school do a lot of plays? Wish mine did, but no such luck.”

“Yeah. Last year we did Grease and I was Danny. Really helped me deciding to go for it anyway, even though the career prospects might not be the best.”

“Tell me more, tell me more,” Harry said with a huge grin.

“You prick. Well, acting has really helped me grow on a personal level, you know? In so many ways, really. When there was shit at home, I could just act and forget about it. But it has also helped to kind of find myself, if that doesn’t sound too weird. I would really love to be able to help kids like that, you know? Just like acting has helped me.”

“That’s beautiful, Lou. Really beautiful.”

“Well, that was a whole lot, I guess. Your turn, better make it good.”

“How long does this thing spin? This might take a while.”

“Depends. Sometimes they make it stop for a bit so you can enjoy the view. The ride should last at least five minutes, though. But if you haven’t got enough time, I’ll just hide you behind the control panel during my afternoon shift, and you’ll be able to tell me all about it from there.”

“You sure you want to hear it though?”

“Absolutely.”

Harry sighed. “Alright, here we go. I guess you might have wondered why I’m here every day on my own.”

“Well, it did strike me as odd, yeah.”

It even made Harry giggle a bit. “Yeah, well, it’s not because I’m obsessed by amusement parks, or I’m stalking you or anything crazy like that. It’s just that, well, stuff’s been shit at home and I didn’t really know where else to go.” He started, eyes fixed at the ground. “That doesn’t make a lot of sense, I suppose. Euhm, well, I’ll probably have to tell the whole story if you want it to make sense, I guess.”

“Please do,” Louis said softly, his hand on Harry’s knee in an attempt to comfort him.

“Okay. Well, it isn’t too special, really,” he said a little ashamed.

“I don’t care. It’s bordering you, so please tell me. It will probably help.”

“Probably. Euhm, mum and dad have been alright, mostly, for like forever. Life wasn’t perfect, because that’s a cliché, but it was really good and we were happy. But then dad cheated on mum, and hell broke loose. We lost so much in the divorce, but most importantly, we lost our happy family life. I told you it was pretty standard.

And then mum got a new boyfriend. Some guy called Chad, and we didn’t have much left, so we moved in with him. Mum was happy again, and we were happier. It went alright for a while, or at least we thought so. But then my sister Gemma walked in on them one night. I’m not sure what exactly happened, she, understandably, doesn’t want to talk about it, but mum was abused and Gemma walking in on them made her realise that she had to get away.

Well, that didn’t work out quite as smoothly as she had expected. Chad was furious. Is furious. No matter where we’d go, he’d find us and would try to convince her to get back with him by brute force. Didn’t work: she went to the police. That of course made him even more enraged, and we have been kind of on the run ever since. No, that sounds too much like a thriller. Like, we mainly have been moving and hoping he won’t find us, with some help from the police.

The thing with being on the run, by lack of a better definition, is that you are actually supposed to lie low. For the past few months, I haven’t been able to go to too many places, because if Chad found me, he’d have found us. When we got here, I begged mum to let me go visit the park, because it seemed like the last place Chad would be able to find me. Finally some freedom, you know? So that’s why I’m here every day.”

“Jesus, Harry.” Louis had now moved to the other side of the capsule, even though it disturbed the balance, and scooped the boy in his arms. Silent tears were running down Harry’s face. His whole body was stiff with tension. “Harry, Harry, Harry,” he whispered soothingly.

“I’m sorry,” Harry softly muttered.

“Stop it,” Louis said sternly. “There is nothing you ought to be sorry for. Your life is shit, and that is not your fault, nor your mum’s, nor your sister’s, nor anyone but Chad’s. Why on earth wouldn’t you be allowed to tell someone about it? Or cry about it?  Don’t ever apologise for something like that again, understood?”

Louis looked out of the window worriedly. They had reached the last quarter of the round, which meant they would soon have to get up. He was pretty sure Harry wasn’t ready for that though.

“It’s just,” Harry said, while unsuccessfully wiping away his tears, “It’s not your problem. I’m not your problem. But yet I got you involved anyway.”

“Harry,” Louis’ voice was stern again, “don’t ever again call yourself a problem. You’re not a problem, you’re a human being. I human being I happen to care about a lot. Don’t you ever forget that, okay? I care about you. God, I care so much about you.”

Harry looked Louis right in the eye. “I really do,” Louis said again, softly. Harry didn’t seem to understand him, or maybe he just didn’t believe him.

“Thank you,” he said softly.

Their ferris wheel came to a halt once again. The door of their capsule slit open. They had reached the ground.

“Come on, we need to get off,” Louis said while softly pulling Harry along. He looked at his watch. Damn it, it was almost two. He really needed to get to his afternoon shift, which was at the Oblivion. But he couldn’t leave Harry alone in this state either. Who was he on shift with again? He couldn’t remember.

“Don’t you need to get back to work?” Harry asked.

“Yes, I do. But I’m not leaving you alone like this. Why don’t you come along?”

“Are you sure that is a good idea? I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

“It’s no trouble,” Louis said while pulling Harry along. “Really, don’t worry about it.” He wasn’t too sure about that yet, but was ready for a fight if anyone was going to say something about it, including his manager.

When Louis got to the Oblivion, however, it turned out he was very lucky. Just after he arrived, his colleague joined him, which happened to be Niall. To avoid problems, Harry waited on a nearby bench while the shift before them left. As soon as they were gone however, Louis smuggled him through the staff entrance and put him on a chair near it.

“So, what’s the deal with the boy?” Niall asked while Harry was still waiting at the bench.

“Euhm, not much, I guess. He trusts me, which is a good sign. Like, he basically told me his life story.”

“Well, that at least explains the state he’s in. I feared you had dumped him.”

“What? No!”

“Oh boy, are you smitten. Does he know yet?”

“I don’t think so. I thought something might have happened during lunch, but then his story came up, and it’s a whole lot to swallow at once.

“Enough to keep you from going for him?”

“I don’t think so, but there are some complications, I guess. But those can’t change how I feel. It’s so strange, you know? This is really the last place I’d ever expect to find something like this, and I don’t even know whether it’s something just yet.”

“Well, go find it out then. I want to know.”

To Niall’s disappointment however, nothing happened while Harry was hiding near their little door. Sure, he cheered up a whole lot, and soon enough the three of them were chatting happily. But there didn’t seem to be any progress between him and Louis.

The afternoon sped by. Before they knew it, it was seven o’ clock and the park shut down. “Should I go?” Harry asked anxiously.

“No, mate! You can get out with us, no problem,” Niall said immediately.

“You sure, Niall?” Louis asked uncertainly. “Won’t we get in trouble for that?”

“I’m sure we won’t. Trust me, I’ve been here a whole lot longer than you. We’ll be fine.”

Louis left is at that, happy he didn’t have to let go of Harry just yet.

“Great!” the boy said happily. “I’ll text my mum I’ll be a little later, and I’ll be fine.”

“Just be quick about it,” Niall said while making sure the entrances were closed off properly. Louis shot him a mystified look, but Niall didn’t react.

“It’s your turn to do the test ride,” Niall said softly when he was finished. He shot Harry a subtle look to make sure he didn’t overhear.

“You can go, if you want to,” Louis replied.

“No way José. I just remembered something Liam mentioned. What are you staring at? Go for it.”

Louis kept staring at him understandably.  “Something Liam mentioned?” he whispered. Then he remembered. The best place to take your date to, according to Harry. He smiled. “Oh, that.”

Harry was still sitting near the staff entrance. He had finished his phone call, and was now idly watching the two workers.

Louis tried to swallow away the sudden dryness In his throat. He wanted this. Yes, he really wanted this. But there was something he had to do first, had to say, and he was not sure whether he wanted that. Not because he was ashamed of his feelings or put back by Harry’s confession. It just was a scary thing to do. A free fall even steeper than the Oblivion’s.

“Houston, we have a problem. You seem to have crashed,” Harry said with a smile.

Louis shook his head as his thinking was disturbed. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Just thinking about what I am going to say.”

“Go ahead.”

He said down so he was on eye-level with Harry. It also gave him a few spare seconds to gather his thoughts, which was a nice bonus. Yet, he still managed to start his little speech with a very uninspirational “Euhm… Okay.” He sighed. “We’ve met, as far as I’m aware, a few weeks ago. Here, though you weren’t exactly here but on the train, and I was fastening your seatbelt. I’m not sure you remember, actually.”

“I do. God, I do.”

“Yeah, well, okay. It wasn’t too special, but still I remembered. I also remember the second time I saw you – again, as far as I remember – which was at the Thunderstorm. You told me a nice little rollercoaster fact: how it’s the best place to take your date to, as it can fool their brain into falling in love with you.”

“And then you basically told me to go fuck myself.” The smile still hadn’t disappeared from Harry’s lips.

“I guess I did. This is a different proposal entirely, though.” Louis took another deep breath. What if he was completely wrong? What if Harry flirted with all nice strangers he met? What if it just was his way of making friends? But much like in a rollercoaster, there was no going back now. “We haven’t known each other for too long. Hell, I didn’t know much more than your name and how nice you are until hours ago. I’ve been looking forward to your visits all day long, you know? First I thought it was because of the boredom, and you were a nice distraction from that. But I no longer think that’s quite  it. It feels like it’s more than that, you know?” A final breath. “You don’t have to take me on the rollercoaster to make me fall in love with you, because I think I’m already falling.”

Louis didn’t dare to look at Harry’s face. There, he said it. He had never felt so bad about saying anything. It was over. He had thrown himself of the metaphorical cliff, and all he could do now was falling and waiting for the landing.

But there Harry was, ready to catch him. Not entirely metaphorically, but with outstretched arms and his lips softly on Louis’.

“And yet I thought those weird feelings were caused by riding too many rollercoasters. How wrong I was,” Harry said, once their lips had parted. “Just kidding. But you sure don’t have to take me riding to get me falling into your arms either.”

“Can I, though?” Louis asked.

“It would be my pleasure.”

They got up, meeting as proudly smiling Niall as seen as they were standing. “Come on, ladies, the thing ain’t gonna test ride itself. And congratulations. I thought you would never say it. Though you were faster than some…” he added.

“Than whom?”

“Never mind, I’ll explain it later. Hop on, I’ll fasten your seatbelts and off you’ll go. The sooner this is over, the sooner you two will be able to have a little privacy.”

They didn’t let Niall tell them that a second time. Harry boarded the bench at the front and pulled Louis right along. “What are we even supposed to do during a test ride?”

“Officially: check for anything out of the ordinary. But I haven’t heard of anything being wrong during the afternoon test rides ever, and I’ll probably notice if anything is wrong anyway. So you know, just sit and enjoy the ride,” Louis said, while Niall checked their seatbelts.

“You’re here, so the enjoying part will probably be fine.”

“How cheesy,” Louis said, smiling.

“You sure haven’t heard your little speech. No, just kidding, it was really cute.” But before they could say more, Niall had pushed the button and the train was set into motion.

Before they knew it, they found themselves falling into the deep. But at least they were falling together, and that helped a whole lot.

_______

Louis was busy closing off the Tea Party when Niall called through the intranet. His most hated ride had turned into one he genuinely liked, because Harry had been there the whole afternoon to provide some distraction. A little too much maybe, as he was burning for the moment he got to snog him behind the bicycle shed, as soon as he got out of there.

But here Niall was, ready to ruin his little plans. “Niall, I’m busy. Make it quick,” he sneered as soon as heard the Irishman’s voice.

“Nice to hear you as well, love. Can you get your ass over to the ferris wheel? I need an extra pair of hands.”

“Really? Harry’s outside waiting, I can’t really use some extra delay, and I need to finish off here as well.”

“I’ll take care of that, promised. Just come over here, and you can leave right after.”

“The ferris wheel, you said? I’ll be right there.”

He thought he saw the problem as soon as the gigantic wheel came into sight. In the capsule right at the top, there were two people. And when Louis got closer, he saw that they were Liam and Zayn.

“What the hell, Niall?” he said as soon as he reached the little operator’s house. “How did they even get up there?”

“Some trickery. It’s was actually rather difficult, but in the end I managed to talk them in there separately, and close the doors before they realised it.”

“And then they got stuck up there. What are the chances?”

“Sometimes you have to help fate a little.”

“Seriously? You got them stuck in there? What you need me for then?”

“To sit and watch. And yes, seriously. Like I said, sometimes you have to help faith a little. It worked out well enough for you.”

“What? You didn’t!”

“Yes, I did. Although not too much, and only after I figured out something was going on between you and Harry because you mentioned it at lunch. You seriously thought it was coincidental  that you worked at the Tea Party so much? Or that you were scheduled at the Oblivion right after your date?”

“It’s immoral!”

“Nah. Then dating websites would be immoral as well. You did all of it yourselves, really. I was merely a catalyst, making the circumstances even more ideal. Now these two, they do need some serious help, because they are two stubborn fuckers.”

“So you locked them up a hundred meters above the ground? How is that gonna help?”

“Raising the pressure a bit. Come on, Louis. You’ve seen them. They’re smitten! They just can’t see it themselves yet. I came close with my little trick at the Rowing Lake, but it just wasn’t enough.”

“What did you do? Did you get them stuck there as well?”

“Was planning on doing that, but this was much easier. I made them bump into each other though. Hoped that would ignite them. I guess they just aren’t cut out for subtlety.”

“And now what?”

“Watch me,” he smirked. He grabbed the microphone and switched it on. “Hey guys. I think there might be a technical problem. Sorry, I tried to fix it so you wouldn’t get worried, but that’s not working out so far. Don’t worry anyway, because help is on the way. And while the two of you are waiting, there might be something you want to discuss. Isn’t that right, Louis?” He smiled at the other boy.

“I think it is, Niall. Just sit down, relax, and talk a little, alright? I know you know what about. If you don’t, just gaze deep into each other’s eyes, and you’ll probably remember.”

“See you down here in not too long, I hope,” Niall added before he shut the mic off again. They couldn’t restrain their laughter. “Well, aren’t you subtle.”

Though their approach might not have been the most subtle, it did work. After another boring ten minutes, in which Louis borrowed Niall’s (not strictly legal, according to company rules) phone, they finally let them back down.

“How do you even manage to do these things and get away with it?” Louis asked when he returned the phone. “You’re constantly breaking the rules, doing god-like things, and yet you’ve been working here for how many years exactly?”

“Four. It’s a family thing, the company. My uncle is actually the big boss around here, and working here is something I’m expected to do. But it has some perks, I guess. I can get away with just about everything.”

“You’re fucking kidding me.”

“Nope. But wait, here they come.”

Liam and Zayn were finally back on the ground. The other two boys were holding their breath, anxiously awaiting the result of the scheme. It took a little longer than they’d thought to get their answer, because at first Liam and Zayn wouldn’t leave the capsule. They hadn’t noticed they were back down, too busy talking and gazing into each other’s eyes.

They had finally fallen. But at least they had together.

THE END


End file.
